Lorsch
Encyclopedia
Lorsch is a town in the Bergstraße district
in Hesse
, Germany
, 60 km south of Frankfurt
. Lorsch is well known for the Lorsch Abbey
, which has been named a World Heritage Site
.
”, actually lies about 5 km west of the Bergstraße in the Rhine rift just west of the Odenwald
between Darmstadt
to the north and Mannheim
to the south. The town lies not far from the Weschnitz’s lower reaches. In the town’s southeast is found the Weschnitzinsel conservation area
.
and the town of Bensheim
, in the east on the town of Heppenheim
, in the southeast on the community of Laudenbach
and the town of Hemsbach
(both in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
, Baden-Württemberg
), in the south on the town of Lampertheim
and in the west on the town of Bürstadt
.
The Lorsch Abbey
was founded in 764 by the Frankish
Count Cancor
and his mother Williswinda. The Abbey was one of the greatest centres of Carolingian art
. Several Carolingian
kings of Germany were buried there. The monastery
was settled by Benedictine
s from the Gorze monastery
near Metz. In a document from 885, the Abbey is mentioned as Lauressam, from which, over the course of time, came the town’s current name. In the Early
and High Middle Ages
, the Abbey was a powerful Imperial
monastery with holdings in the nearby Odenwald
, on the Bergstraße
and in Rhenish Hesse, and also in Alsace
and Lorraine
.
In the civil war resulting from the Investiture Controversy
in the 11th century, the Abbey sustained great losses in holdings to the nobility.
In the late 12th century, with the record of the old deeds, there was an attempt to reorganize the administration (Lorsch codex
). Nevertheless, in 1232, Lorsch was awarded to the Archbishopric of Mainz
and newly settled by Premonstratensian
s. Thereafter, Mainz and Electoral Palatinate found themselves at odds over who should hold the Vogt
rights. Of the Carolingian
Benedictine
abbey, which in parts has been unearthed, the gatehall (from about 800) has been preserved. It is today a UNESCO
-protected World Heritage Site
.
See also: Lorsch codex
, Franconia
, Ripuarian Franks
, Electoral Mainz
, Electoral Palatinate
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:
The town executive (Magistrat) is made up of 7 councillors. Three seats are allotted to the CDU, two to the SPD and one each to the PWL and the Greens.
might be described thus: Party per fess, above sable the King’s Hall Or, below party per pale, argent a cross pattée fitchy gules and azure the Lion of Hesse springing.
The King’s Hall (Königshalle), the building declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, is borne as a charge
in the town’s arms. The red cross pattée fitchy (that is, cross with “flattened” ends to three of the arms, and a point on the bottom one) is the coat of arms formerly borne by the Lorsch Abbey in its heyday. The Lion of Hesse, shown here springing (with both hindfeet on the ground) rather than rampant (with only one hindfoot on the ground), comes from Hesse’s coat of arms (in which he is rampant) and symbolizes Lorsch’s status as part of Hesse.
, Loire
, France
since 1988 Zwevegem
, West Flanders, Belgium
since 1973 Thal
, an outlying centre of Ruhla, Thuringia
since 1990
There is also a friendship arrangement with: Šternberk, Olomouc Region
, Czech Republic
.
This came about through the sponsorship arrangement for those ethnic Germans driven out of the communities of Jívová (formerly Giebau), Pohorsch, Weska and Hraničné Petrovice (Petersdorf bei Giebau), who then settled in Lorsch.
Through the town’s municipal area run Autobahn A 67 and Bundesstraße
n 47 and 460.
Lorsch’s DB
railway station lies on the Nibelungenbahn (railway) between Bensheim
and Worms
. Furthermore, there are bus connections with Lampertheim/Bürstadt, Heppenheim, Einhausen and Bensheim.
Lorsch lies on Hesse’s cycle path R9, which leads from Worms by way of Bensheim to Höchst im Odenwald
.
GmbH & Co.KG was founded in 2001 in Lorsch and has its head office here. It has USB flashdrives, external hard drives and MP3 players made in Asia. Development and quality control, however, are located in Lorsch.
Lorsch’s homepage gives a more exhaustive list of the businesses in town.
s, the Bergsträßer Anzeiger with its regional Lorsch/Einhausen edition, and the less widespread Starkenburger Echo.
– locally known as Fastnacht – there is a Carnival parade with more than 100 attractions, which every year draws thousands of Narren – jesters – to the old monastery town.
Kreis Bergstraße
Bergstraße is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Groß-Gerau, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Odenwaldkreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, the urban district Mannheim, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and the urban district of Worms...
in Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 60 km south of Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. Lorsch is well known for the Lorsch Abbey
Lorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
, which has been named a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
Location
Lorsch, which is described as “The Gateway to the BergstraßeBergstraße
Bergstraße is the name of a mountainous theme route, and the area around it, stretching across the western edge of the Odenwald in southern Hesse and northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
”, actually lies about 5 km west of the Bergstraße in the Rhine rift just west of the Odenwald
Odenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
between Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
to the north and Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
to the south. The town lies not far from the Weschnitz’s lower reaches. In the town’s southeast is found the Weschnitzinsel conservation area
Conservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
.
Neighbouring communities
Lorsch borders in the north on the community of EinhausenEinhausen
Einhausen is a community in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, some 15 km east of Worms.-Location:Einhausen lies on the Bergstraße in the Hessisches Ried and belongs the northeast Rhine valley, which has a rather favourable climate...
and the town of Bensheim
Bensheim
Bensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain...
, in the east on the town of Heppenheim
Heppenheim
Heppenheim is the seat of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Bergstraße on the edge of the Odenwald.- Location :...
, in the southeast on the community of Laudenbach
Laudenbach (Rhein-Neckar)
Laudenbach is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
and the town of Hemsbach
Hemsbach
Hemsbach is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the Bergstraße, 18 km northeast of Mannheim.Hemsbach has restored one of the synagogues that flourished in the town before Kristallnacht....
(both in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bergstraße, Odenwaldkreis, Neckar-Odenwald, Heilbronn, Karlsruhe, district-free Speyer, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and district-free Mannheim and Heidelberg.-History:The district was created in...
, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
), in the south on the town of Lampertheim
Lampertheim
Lampertheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Lampertheim lies in the southwest corner of Hesse in the Rhine rift at the Biedensand Conservation Area and borders on Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate...
and in the west on the town of Bürstadt
Bürstadt
Bürstadt is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany, 7 km east of Worms, and 17 km north of Mannheim.-Location:Bürstadt lies in the Rhine rift between the Rhine and the Odenwald, and thereby in the Hessisches Ried....
.
History
Lorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
was founded in 764 by the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
Count Cancor
Cancor
Cancor was a Frankish count, possibly of Hesbaye.In 764 he founded Lorsch Abbey together with his widowed mother Williswinda as a proprietary church and monastery on their estate, Laurissa. They entrusted its government to Cancor's nephew Chrodegang, Archbishop of Metz, son of Cancor's sister...
and his mother Williswinda. The Abbey was one of the greatest centres of Carolingian art
Carolingian art
Carolingian art comes from the Frankish Empire in the period of roughly 120 years from about AD 780 to 900 — during the reign of Charlemagne and his immediate heirs — popularly known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The art was produced by and for the court circle and a group of...
. Several Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
kings of Germany were buried there. The monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
was settled by Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
s from the Gorze monastery
Gorze Abbey
Gorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz-Campagne, near Metz in Lorraine. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s.-History:...
near Metz. In a document from 885, the Abbey is mentioned as Lauressam, from which, over the course of time, came the town’s current name. In the Early
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
and High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
, the Abbey was a powerful Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
monastery with holdings in the nearby Odenwald
Odenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
, on the Bergstraße
Bergstraße
Bergstraße is the name of a mountainous theme route, and the area around it, stretching across the western edge of the Odenwald in southern Hesse and northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
and in Rhenish Hesse, and also in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
.
In the civil war resulting from the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
in the 11th century, the Abbey sustained great losses in holdings to the nobility.
In the late 12th century, with the record of the old deeds, there was an attempt to reorganize the administration (Lorsch codex
Lorsch codex
The Lorsch Codex is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. It consists of 460 pages in large format containing more than 3800 entries...
). Nevertheless, in 1232, Lorsch was awarded to the Archbishopric of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
and newly settled by Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
s. Thereafter, Mainz and Electoral Palatinate found themselves at odds over who should hold the Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
rights. Of the Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
abbey, which in parts has been unearthed, the gatehall (from about 800) has been preserved. It is today a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
-protected World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
See also: Lorsch codex
Lorsch codex
The Lorsch Codex is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. It consists of 460 pages in large format containing more than 3800 entries...
, Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
, Ripuarian Franks
Ripuarian Franks
Ripuarian Franks is a distinction of the Frankish people made by a number of writers in the Latin language of the first several centuries of the Christian Era...
, Electoral Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
, Electoral Palatinate
Community council
| Parties and voter communities | % 2006 |
Seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
Seats 2001 |
|
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 44.4 | 16 | 43.1 | 16 |
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
23.8 | 9 | 31.1 | 11 |
| GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 12.4 | 5 | 9.6 | 4 |
| FDP | Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
4.7 | 2 | 1.6 | 1 |
| PWL | Parteilose Wählerschaft Lorsch | 14.7 | 5 | 14.7 | 5 |
| Total | 100.0 | 37 | 100.0 | 37 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 44.6 | 50.9 | |||
The town executive (Magistrat) is made up of 7 councillors. Three seats are allotted to the CDU, two to the SPD and one each to the PWL and the Greens.
Mayor
From 1993 to 2011, the mayor has been Klaus Jäger (independent). He was re-elected on 7 February 1999 with 85.2% of the vote, and again on 13 February 2005 with 70.6%. Since 2011 the mayor is Christian Schönung (CDU).Coat of arms
Lorsch’s armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might be described thus: Party per fess, above sable the King’s Hall Or, below party per pale, argent a cross pattée fitchy gules and azure the Lion of Hesse springing.
The King’s Hall (Königshalle), the building declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, is borne as a charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
in the town’s arms. The red cross pattée fitchy (that is, cross with “flattened” ends to three of the arms, and a point on the bottom one) is the coat of arms formerly borne by the Lorsch Abbey in its heyday. The Lion of Hesse, shown here springing (with both hindfeet on the ground) rather than rampant (with only one hindfoot on the ground), comes from Hesse’s coat of arms (in which he is rampant) and symbolizes Lorsch’s status as part of Hesse.
Town partnerships
Le CoteauLe Coteau
Le Coteau is a commune in the Loire department in central France.It lies about north-west of Lyon next to Roanne, with the river Loire in between....
, Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1988 Zwevegem
Zwevegem
Zwevegem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Heestert, Moen, Otegem, Sint-Denijs and Zwevegem proper. On January 1, 2006 Zwevegem had a total population of 23,674...
, West Flanders, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
since 1973 Thal
Ruhla
Ruhla is a town situated in the forest of Thuringia in the district of Wartburgkreis in Germany, immediately next to the Rennsteig. Thal and Kittelsthal are parts of the town.-Church of St. Concordia:...
, an outlying centre of Ruhla, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
since 1990
There is also a friendship arrangement with: Šternberk, Olomouc Region
Olomouc Region
Olomouc Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia and in a small part of the historical region of Silesia . It is named for its capital Olomouc.-External links:* *...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
This came about through the sponsorship arrangement for those ethnic Germans driven out of the communities of Jívová (formerly Giebau), Pohorsch, Weska and Hraničné Petrovice (Petersdorf bei Giebau), who then settled in Lorsch.
Museums
- Museumszentrum Lorsch (“Lorsch Museum Centre”) with its departments of monastic history and folklore, and its tobacco museum.
Buildings
- Lorsch AbbeyLorsch AbbeyThe Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
with the Königshalle - BenedictineBenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
herb gardens at the Lorsch Abbey - Lorsch’s Town Hall (built between 1714 and 1715) - Current location of the Tourist Information and the Adult Education Center
- Lorsch’s oldest timber-frameTimber framingTimber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
house at Stiftstraße 19 - Lorsch’s oldest guesthouse, the Weißes Kreuz
- Wattenheimer Brücke (bridge)
Transport
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
n 47 and 460.
Lorsch’s DB
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
railway station lies on the Nibelungenbahn (railway) between Bensheim
Bensheim
Bensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain...
and Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
. Furthermore, there are bus connections with Lampertheim/Bürstadt, Heppenheim, Einhausen and Bensheim.
Lorsch lies on Hesse’s cycle path R9, which leads from Worms by way of Bensheim to Höchst im Odenwald
Höchst im Odenwald
Höchst im Odenwald is a community in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Höchst lies 25 km east of Darmstadt, in the northern Odenwald at elevations between 175 and 400 m....
.
Established businesses
The firm TrekStorTrekStor
TrekStor GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of portable storage products and audio devices incorporated in 2004 and located in Lorsch in South Hesse, Germany.The company is primarily known for its MP3 players, hard disk drives, and USB flash drives...
GmbH & Co.KG was founded in 2001 in Lorsch and has its head office here. It has USB flashdrives, external hard drives and MP3 players made in Asia. Development and quality control, however, are located in Lorsch.
Lorsch’s homepage gives a more exhaustive list of the businesses in town.
Media
Lorsch has two regional daily newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, the Bergsträßer Anzeiger with its regional Lorsch/Einhausen edition, and the less widespread Starkenburger Echo.
Public institutions
- Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald
- Im Birkengarten (big playground)
- Catholic public libraryLibraryIn a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
- Waldschwimmbad: The Lorsch “Forest Swimming Pool” was built in the 1970s. The technology was thoroughly overhauled and expanded in 1994 and 1995.
Regular events
In Lorsch on Thursday during CarnivalCarnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
– locally known as Fastnacht – there is a Carnival parade with more than 100 attractions, which every year draws thousands of Narren – jesters – to the old monastery town.
Education
- Wingertsbergschule – primary school. The Wingertsbergschule lies on a former sand dune in the Rhine rift on the northeastern edge of its feeder area, the town of Lorsch. Right nearby is found the widely known former Lorsch Abbey. The Wingertsbergschule was founded as a Bergstraße district primary school on 9 January 1974. It is a successor to the Karolinger Volksschule, which until 1972 was sponsored by the town of Lorsch. About 540 children nowadays attend the school and are taught by 31 teachers.
- Werner-von-Siemens Schule – HauptschuleHauptschuleA Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
-RealschuleRealschuleThe Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
. The Werner-von-Siemens Schule gets its name from the Berlin inventor Werner von Siemens. After the Hesse Ministry of Education and the Bergstraße district decided to build a new Hauptschule-Realschule in the town’s south (Lagerfeld) in 1971, the Werner-von-Siemens Schule was inaugurated. In November 1973, the school administration decided, along with the parents’ advisory committeeParent-Teacher AssociationIn the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
to bestow the name Werner-von-Siemens Schule upon the school, which was then announced during an official ceremony on 24 June 1974.
Honorary citizens
- Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Dörnberg (b. 5 July 1781 in Mansfeld; d. 21 January 1877 in Darmstadt), forest master, honoured 1844 .
- Heinrich Johannes Heinstadt (b. 19 August 1872 in Oppershofen; d. 8 April 1956), clergyman, honoured 1946.
- Friedrich Behn (b. 14 February 1883 in Neustrelitz; d. 20 August 1970 in Mainz), archaeologist and archaeological monument caretaker, honoured 1965.
- Albert Ohlmeyer (b. 31 October 1905 in Münster, Westphalia; d. 5 December 1998), abbot, honoured 1965.
- Karl Minst (b. 26 April 1898 in Triesen, Liechtenstein; d. 10 June 1984), monastery administrator, honoured 1972.
- Dr. Ekkehard Lommel (b. 14 December 1913 in Weilburg; d. 1 October 2006), district administrator (retired), honoured 25 January 2001.
- Paul Schnitzer (b. 5 November 1934 in Lorsch; d. 21 September 1995), senior lecturer, honoured posthumously 25 January 2001.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Michael Meister (b. 1961), CDU politician
- Ernst-Dieter Suttheimer, opera singer
Further reading
- Heinrich Diehl: Lorsch. Geschichte und Geschichten. Lorsch: Verlag Laurissa, 1991, ISBN 3-922781-17-9
- Wilhelm Weyrauch: Zu den Ursprüngen von Lorsch – Die erste Kirche in Lauresham. In: Geschichtsblätter Kreis Bergstraße Bd. 33/2000, S. 11 – 64.